Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-WI) departure from the House on April 19 throws a wrench in the GOP’s small House majority because the date means the seat will be empty for the remainder of the term.
Gallagher, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he would not seek reelection in February, but his decision to leave early has prompted backlash because his replacement will not be elected until November.
“I’m disappointed. I think he should have finished out his term,” former Republican state Sen. Roger Roth, who declared his candidacy for Gallagher’s seat in February, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I think it’s unfortunate because it leaves a vacancy in Congress at, obviously, what could be a critical time.”
His departure also leaves House Republicans with just a one-vote majority, setting up another hurdle in the party’s hopes of getting any meaningful legislation passed this Congress because it means only two Republicans need to vote against legislation to stop it from advancing.
Some Wisconsin conservatives have blasted Gallagher’s exit as a deliberate move to hurt House Republicans, which Gallagher’s office has denied.
“I want you to know that this is deliberate,” another potential congressional contender, Alex Bruesewitz, said at a GOP dinner over the weekend. “This is the swamp and the RINOs’ way to backstab their constituents and the Republican voters one last time.”
Bruesewitz, who has signaled plans to join the race to replace Gallagher, also called for the congressman to resign before the state’s April 2 deadline for a special election.
A source close to Gallagher told the Washington Examiner on Monday that the congressman’s decision to depart on April 19 was approved by House leadership. The source also predicted that Vince Fong’s runoff election in a safely red California district in May will help the GOP keep its majority.
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Gallagher’s departure also deals a blow to the party’s congressional leadership because the four-term congressman serves as the chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“Four terms serving Northeast Wisconsin in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime and strengthened my conviction that America is the greatest country in the history of the world,” Gallagher said in a statement on Friday. “I will forever be proud of the work I did on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.”
